Telehealth is a post-punk/synthpop duo from Seattle, Washington consisting of Alexander Attitude & Kendra Cox. Their 2023 debut Content Oscillator properly introduced themselves combining both of those previously mentioned styles with new wave as well as egg punk, garnering the interest of locally historic indie label Sub Pop Records & they were officially signed a few months earlier. So for Alex & Kendra to make their debut for the imprint through their sophomore effort seemed like it could be the pairing’s biggest breakthrough yet.
After the “(user onboarding sequence)” intro, “The Telehealth Shuffle” begins with this compositionally playful & quirky dance-punk opener whereas “Kokomo 2” goes for a new wave/egg punk vibe singing about a machine rendering a senseless future to be useless. The 3rd single “Donor Country (A gOoD cAuSe)” asks why can’t we coexist & trying to find some charitable context leading into “Age of Muralcide” embracing a synth punk sound to explain capitalism & consumerism.
The 2nd single “Things I’ve Killed” embraces the a heavy Devo influence singing about a subreddit blaming millennials for all the industries that they blame for destroying prior to them asking for the “Cost of Inaction” to kick off the 2nd half incorporating elements of new wave, synthpop & dance punk. “Silver Spoon” humorously sings about being unable to afford death & taxes anymore considering everything’s getting more expensive while the lead single “Cool Job” describes looking for an occupation that would actually be fun.
“Yassify Me” for the 4th & final single explains the result of a $0 budget, a dream & Kendra’s aunt Becky absolutely committing to the bit while “Maria, Machine” takes inspiration from Devo once more with hints of Sparks or Zolar X. The penultimate song finds the duo embracing their “Villain Era” & confidently looking to take the crown while the outro “Living, Laughing, Loving, Trying” pretty much sums up the way most of us have been doing for the past year & a half.
Continuing their mission of financializing any difference of opinion over how the in-shambles local “music scene” should proceed, Telehealth’s 2nd album & Sub Pop debut vertically integrates itself towards the average Seattleite & consumers around the globe who are also ready to financialize their own passion for music. Green World Image has a more predominant post-punk feeling than synthpop except they’re progressively evolving beyond both styles in favor of exploring art punk, synth punk, dance-punk, egg punk, new wave & art rock.
Score: 4/5
Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!
Legends Will Never Die 